


Stay Close, Don't Go

by Tea__Bee



Series: Cuddle Prompts [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Platonic Cuddling, Slow Burn, bed sharing, widomauk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 15:36:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17790068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea__Bee/pseuds/Tea__Bee
Summary: Cuddling Prompt #2: For WarmthThe Nein find themselves stopping for the night in the middle of nowhere on a cold, cold night.Title from Stay Close, Don't Go by Secondhand Serenade





	Stay Close, Don't Go

”It's _freezing out here,_ Fjord!” Beau complained. “Why couldn't we just keep going and find a _town_ with an _inn_ ? Somewhere with _beds_ ,” she griped, teeth chattering as she muttered, “...blankets, a _fireplace_.”

Fjord paused as he tied the horses’ leads to a tree, “Beau, we're all tired, we don't know where the hell the next town is going to come up, and the horses are near exhaustion. We'll just pull out the tent and huddle around the fire for the night.” Beau grumbled a response no one could hear over her shivers or their own, and everyone set to work assembling the tent and setting up camp.

Finally, getting past fumbling fingers and sniffling, chilly noses, a fire was set, the tent went up, and watches were assigned. Molly and Caleb were up first, since they'd both napped a bit in the cart, but most of the Nein decided to stick close and pull their bedrolls as near the fire as they could, only Jester and Nott deciding to curl up in the tent.

Their watch passed by uneventfully, the crackling fire and the soft breathing of their friends the only sounds interrupting the quiet night.

Caleb read, mostly relying on his ears to scan for danger, while Molly sat near him and scanned the road. “Don't know why we're really bothering with watch, honestly. We haven't seen anyone on the road for miles, and there's visibility for quite a ways from here. We'd see anyone coming well before they ever managed to sneak up on us.” He flicked a crumb off his pants and looked up at Caleb, who had actually looked up to meet his eyes when he started to speak. He smiled, and Caleb looked to the fire.

“Yes, well. Also, I suppose there could be someone invisible. But, ah… watch wouldn't necessarily help with that now, would it?” Caleb chuckled lightly and gestured vaguely into the distance as if to point out a figure that wasn't there.

Molly's smile widened at the other man's chuckle, something that was too rarely heard. He took the chance to nudge his elbow lightly against Caleb's side, “That's what your silver thread is for though, isn't it? No invisible baddies can get to us without tripping it, thanks to you.”

Caleb had jolted a bit at the contact, but had looked back at Molly and quirked up a corner of his mouth, distorting the layout of the freckles on his cheek in the process. They were close, sitting together for warmth, but not quite as close as they'd been in that moment of fear running through the streets the week before, not quite touching.

“ _Ja_ , I-” Caleb started, as Jester and Nott shuffled blearily out of the tent, yawning.

“Hi, Molly, hi, Caleb!” Jester's sweet voice, chipper even with her residual sleepiness, called quietly, for her anyway, approaching the two.

“Mine and Yasha's watch is up,” Nott said, her voice scratchy but still sweet. “You can head to sleep,” she continued, eyes glowing in the firelight as she looked fondly at her boy.

“You can have the tent if you like,” offered Jester. “I'm going to join the cuddle pile here, or maybe stay up and braid Yasha and Nott's hair, maybe.” She knew Caleb was unlikely to huddle with the group in a pile of bedrolls for warmth, and figured he'd be a bit warmer in the tent, protected from the elements a little more.

Caleb nodded at her and got up, ruffling Nott's hair as he walked past her and making her laugh. He glanced back at Mollymauk, who was settling down next to Fjord in the sleeping mass, nodded at the softly smiling tiefling, and ducked into the tent.

He started to shed his coat, but thought better of it, removing it only for a moment to unharness his many books, then slipping the coat back around his shoulders. He sighed and settled down onto one of the bedrolls that had been set side by side on the floor of the tent, taking in the slight scent of dirt that was Nott, and of sugar and flowers that was Jester. He started to nod off, lulled by the quiet chatter of the three women outside the tent, safe here with his friends.

But every time he started to fall asleep, he was jolted back awake by the chill of the night, by his own slight shivering, and by the noises of Fjord, who had started to snore. Trying to ignore all of this, he pulled his coat closer, tucked his feet under, and started to doze once more, only to be interrupted by the tent opening.

He startled awake again, sitting up abruptly, expecting the worst, but looking up into Molly's glowing red eyes.

“Sorry, sorry,” Mollymauk whispered, holding out a hand to placate the man on the ground, using the other to close the tent flap behind him. “Just, can I?” He gestured to the bedroll beside Caleb, who just gaped at him, mouth open and eyes wide. “Fjord started to snore and it just wasn't worth the fire's warmth anymore”

Caleb realized he was staring and cleared his throat, nodding and patting the space the tiefling had requested. “Of course.”

Molly sat and unlaced his boots, prying them off and placing them next to Caleb's shoes, before scooting in next to the wizard. “Sorry, I know you'd rather be alone,” he said quietly, turning his back to Caleb and making sure to leave plenty of space between himself and the other man.

“ _Ja_ , but it is fine. Fjord is loud, and it is cold out. You will be more comfortable here, and I am not…” There was a pause. “Not completely uncomfortable, here with you. It is fine, Mollymauk.”

Molly smiled into the darkness, knowing that it had been a difficult thing to say. He decided to leave it there, only humming a response and shifting a bit to get more comfortable. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to come, but it wasn't long before he could hear the soft chattering of Caleb's teeth behind him.

He turned his head slightly, so he could just make out the other man's shape in his peripheral vision, “Caleb?” He whispered tentatively.

A sigh, and then, “Yes, Mollymauk?”

“You're still cold.”

“Well...y-yes.”

Molly turned over, fully facing Caleb's hunched form. “Can I-” he hesitated.

Caleb turned his head to look in the direction of Molly's voice. “Yes?”

“Well, I-” he stopped and started again, more uncertain than Caleb had ever heard him, seemingly worried that the nervous, guarded wizard would be uncomfortable. “We could, well. Share, ah… share body heat? Um, we could get closer, and it might be warmer,” he finished lamely, head tucked to hide the flush spreading across his ears, though the human man couldn't see it in the dark regardless.

“Oh.”

Molly backtracked quickly, “Unless you would be uncomfortable, of course, it's just an offer, no skin off my back if you'd rather stay over there and shiver all night.” He tried to brush it off with a touch of humor, but the nerves were clear in the shake of his voice, slightly different from the shake cause by the cold weather.

Caleb turned his head away from Molly again, quiet for a long moment, until Molly was sure he was avoiding answering at all, made too uncomfortable to deny him.

Then, he shifted closer, scooting back until he met Mollymauk's body just barely. Molly let out the breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding, slung his arm lightly around the other man and scooted just a bit closer, slotting them together more comfortably, and asked, “Is this alright?”

“ _Ja_ , Mollymauk,” Caleb whispered, barely audible. “It is fine.”

It wasn't much longer before the two had fallen asleep, Molly's tail swishing idly behind him, his face buried in the long red hair of the man he held.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, this one ended up longer!  
> Hope you enjoyed, keep an eye out(or subscribe) for the next installment!
> 
> \- J


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